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Geology topics

M. D. Winner

Publications and source records attributed to M. D. Winner.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

Bibliography of selected water-resources publications by the U.S. Geological Survey for North Carolina, 1886-1995

More than 660 selected publications, written by scientists, engineers, and technicians of the U.S. Geological Survey during the period 1886-1995, compose the bulk of information about North Carolina?s water resources. The bibliography includes interpretive reports on water resources, ground water, surface water, water quality, and public-water supply and water use, as well as data reports on the same subjects. The interpretive reports are organized by geographic areas of the State. These areas include statewide, physiographic province, major river basin, and county. The data reports are listed by water-resource topic, and the introduction to each topic provides historical notes for data-collection and publication activities. Summary tables list Water-Supply Paper numbers for reports containing ground-water, surface-water, and water-quality data by calendar year or water year. A concluding section discusses the availability of U.S. Geological Survey publications.

North Carolina

U.S. Geological Survey; North Carolina's water resources; a partnership with State, Federal and local agencies

For more than 80 years, the Federal-State Cooperative Program in North Carolina has been an effective partnership that provides timely water information for all levels of government. The cooperative program has raised awareness of State and local water problems and issues and has enhanced transfer and exchange of scientific information. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducts statewide water-resources investigations in North Carolina that include hydrologic data collection, applied research studies, and other interpretive studies. These programs are funded through cooperative agreements with the North Carolina Departments of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources; Human Resources; and Transportation, as well as more than a dozen city and county governmental agencies. The USGS also conducts special studies and data-collection programs for Federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, the U.S. Soil Conservation Service, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that contribute to North Carolina's water information data base. Highlights of selected programs are presented to show the scope of USGS activities in North Carolina and their usefulness in addressing water-resource problems. The reviewed programs include the statewide data-collection program, estuarine studies, the National Water-Quality Assessment program, military installation restoration program, and groundwater flow model-development program in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont provinces.

North Carolina

Hydrogeology of aquifers in Cretaceous and younger rocks in the vicinity of Onslow and southern Jones counties, North Carolina

Unconsolidated sediments in Onslow and Jones Counties, North Carolina overlie crystalline basement rocks and range in thickness from about 700 ft to more than 1,800 ft, thickening toward the east. This material is composed of permeable sand and limestone interlayered with relatively impermeable clay and silt beds. Sediments are divided into two groups: aquifers in Quaternary-, and Tertiary-aged rocks and aquifers in Cretaceous-aged rocks. Aquifers in the Cretaceous rocks provide most of the groundwater for public supplies and are the focus of this report. The aquifers in Cretaceous rocks are the Peedee, Black Creek, upper Cape Fear, and lower Cape Fear aquifers, which are composed of beds or groups of beds of sand and gravel. Each aquifer is overlain by a clay and silt bed, that impedes the flow of water between aquifers. The thickness of Cretaceous hydrogeologic units ranges from about 700 ft to more than 1, 300 ft. Hydrogeologic units are correlated using 60 geophysical logs and accompanying drillers ' logs along with water level and water quality data. Three hydrogeologic sections demonstrate the continuity of the aquifers and confining units, show water levels and chloride concentration in water from test intervals, and delineate where chloride concentration in water exceeds 250 mg/L within each aquifer. Maps of each aquifer in Cretaceous rocks show altitude of its top, thickness, sand percentage, and the transition from freshwater to saltwater. Maps of the confining units show thickness and sand percentage of each.

North Carolina

Hydrogeologic framework of the North Carolina Coastal Plain aquifer system

The hydrogeologic framework of the North Carolina Coastal Plain aquifer system consists of ten aquifers separated by nine confining units. From top to bottom the aquifers are: the surficial aquifer, Yorktown aquifer, Pungo River aquifer, Castle Hayne aquifer, Beaufort aquifer, Peedee aquifer, Black Creek aquifer, upper Cape Fear aquifer, lower Cape Fear aquifer, and the Lower Cretaceous aquifer. The uppermost aquifer (the surficial aquifer in most places) is a water-table aquifer and the bottom of the system is underlain by crystalline bedrock. The sedimentary deposits forming the aquifers are of Holocene to Cretaceous age and are composed mostly of sand with lesser amounts of gravel and limestone. Confining units between aquifers are composed primarily of clay and silt. The thickness of the aquifers ranges from zero along the Fall Line to more than 10,000 feet at Cape Hatteras. Prominent structural features are the increasing easterly homoclinal dip of the sediments and the Cape Fear arch, the axis of which trends in a southeast direction. The stratigraphic continuity is determined from correlations of 161 geophysical logs along with data from drillers' and geologists' logs. Aquifers were defined by means of these logs plus water-level and water-quality data and evidence of the continuity of pumping effects. Eighteen hydrogeologic sections depict the correlation of these aquifers throughout the Coastal Plain.

North Carolina

Aquifers in Cretaceous rocks of the central Coastal Plain of North Carolina

Aquifers in rocks of Cretaceous age are the major source of groundwater for public supplies in the central Coastal Plain. These aquifers consist of sand, gravel, and limestone beds of the Peedee, Black Creek, and the upper and lower Cape Fear aquifers, each separated by a confining unit composed of clay and silt beds. The aquifers and confining units (1) rest upon crystalline basement rocks; (2) dip and thicken to the east-southeast; and (3) are overlain by younger aquifers and confining units in deposits of Quaternary and Tertiary age. The top of the uppermost aquifer, the Peedee, ranges from 122 ft above to 595 ft below sea level. The maximum thickness of all aquifers and confining units in Cretaceous rocks is more than 1,600 ft. Aquifers and confining units were defined and correlated for this report using 125 geophysical logs and accompanying drillers' logs, water level data, and water quality information regarding chloride concentrations in water. This analysis allowed the construction of seven hydrogeologic cross sections that depict the continuity of all the aquifers and confining units. These cross sections also show water levels and chloride concentrations in water from various test intervals and describe where chloride concentration in water exceeds 250 mg/L within each aquifer. Detailed maps of each Cretaceous aquifer show altitude of its top, thickness, areas of selected sand percentages, transition zones from fresh to saltwater, and the thickness of the confining unit. H ydrogeologic data for all aquifers and confining units are presented in tabular form.

North Carolina

Potentiometric surface of the Black Creek Aquifer in the central coastal plain of North Carolina, December 1986

Water level measurements were made in 95 wells open to the Black Creek aquifer at the end of 1986 to determine the configuration of its potentiometric surface over an area of about 4,900 sq mi in the central Coastal Plain of North Carolina. The altitude of the potentiometric surface of the Black Creek ranges between 80 and 100 ft above sea level along the western limit of the aquifer. From there the potentiometric surface slopes southeasterly toward a large, elongated cone of depression that has coalesced from cones that have developed around three main pumping centers and several smaller ones. The potentiometric surface in the Black Creek has declined to more than 120 ft below sea level in the southernmost cone developing near Jacksonville in Onslow County.

North Carolina

Potentiometric surface of the lower Cape Fear aquifer in the central coastal plain of North Carolina, December 1986

Water level measurements were made in four wells open to the lower Cape Fear aquifer at the end of 1986 to determine the configuration of its potentiometric surface over an area of approximately 4,100 sq mi. Because of the scarcity of data, five earlier measurements were also used to help estimate the position of the potentiometric contours. These were one-time measurements in temporary observation wells. A broad cone of depression has formed in the area between Kinston and New Bern where the potentiometric surface is below sea level and seems likely related to large groundwater withdrawals from the aquifers overlying the lower Cape Fear in that area.

North Carolina

Altitude of basement surface in the central coastal plain area of North Carolina

The altitude of the basement surface in the central Coastal Plain of North Carolina ranges from 140 ft above sea level in Wayne County near the Fall Line to 2,400 ft below sea level near the coast in Beaufort County. The slope increases to the east from about 20 ft/mi at the fall line to about 70 ft/mi at the eastern edge of the study area. The irregular nature of the basement surface is demonstrated by: (1) the variable altitudes of the basement surface in the western portion of the study area; (2) the protruding granite/gneiss rock body at a quarry near the Town of Fountain, Pitt County; and (3) the flattening of the basement surface slope observed near the Jones County and Craven County border. Basement rock types in this study area include granite, granite gneiss, metavolcanic, and metasedimentary rocks of Precambrian to Paleozoic age.

Water-Resources Investigations Report

An observation-well network concept as applied to North Carolina

A statewide observation-well program is proposed for North Carolina based on four networks of observation wells with different but clearly-defined objectives. These are referred to as the (1) climatic-effects network, (2) terrane-effects network, (3) local-effects network, and (4) areal-effects network. The characteristics of each network are related to natural and manmade stresses in aquifers, and the areas and hydrogeologic units in North Carolina where these networks are needed are identified. Formats for collection, processing, and publication of data from these networks are suggested.

North Carolina

Ground-water resources of the Cape Lookout National Seashore, North Carolina

Fresh groundwater in the Cape Lookout National Seashore in North Carolina occurs in the unconfined aquifer, an upper confined aquifer, and a lower limestome aquifer. The unconfined aquifer beneath dunes on the barrier islands is estimated to yield as much as 30 gallons per minute of freshwater to a horizontal well, but this aquifer is subject to periodic overwash by the ocean, thus temporarily contaminating the aquifer with saltwater. The upper confined aquifer is about 90 to 150 feet deep, but is known to contain freshwater only in the Drum Inlet area. The potential yield of this aquifer where it is fresh is unknown because of the possibility of saltwater encroachment. The lower limestone aquifer (150 to 550 feet deep) contains freshwater southeast of Drum Inlet; potential yields is estimated to be as great as 500 gallons per minute per well. The estimated yields from all aquifers depend on the position of the saltwater interface at any given site. Maps of the Seashore show areas where freshwater may occur in the unconfined aquifer; each map is accompanied by a description of the availability of freshwater.

North Carolina

Ground-water resources of Wilson County, North Carolina

The most important sources of ground water for Wilson County, North Carolina are (1) the sand beds of the Cretaceous aquifer system in the Coastal Plain section in the eastern part of the county and (2) the bedrock aquifer system in the Piedmont section in the western part of the county. The Cretaceous aquifer is recharged from leakage through overlying beds composed primarily of clay. This leakage rate is estimated to average about 67,000 gallons per day per square mile (100 cubic metres per day per square kilometre). Present withdrawals from the Cretaceous aquifer in the county average about 740 gallons per day per square mile (1.1 cubic metres per day per square kilometre), or about 1 percent of the amount of water available to the aquifer. Most of the withdrawals from the Cretaceous aquifer are in the Saratoga-Stantonsburg area in eastern Wilson County around which a widespread decline in water level has occurred in the aquifer. Since 1942, the rate of decline has averaged nearly 1.5 feet (0.45 metre) per year in the center of the pumping area. Individual wells can yield as much as 500 gallons per minute (32 litres per second) in the easternmost part of the county where the aquifer is thickest, but wells pumped continually at this rate would increase the rate of water-level decline throughout the aquifer.

North Carolina